Tea for two
by howdareyoustealthatcar
Summary: Sterek gender-swap!CoffeeShop AU. While going through University, Stiles gets a job at the local Coffee Shop to help pay off her loans. I'm planning for lots of fluff and a bit of angst. Comments are appreciated :)
1. Chapter 1

Just in case you didn't read the description - This is a gender-swap!CoffeeShop AU. Just incase you were getting confused about why Stiles is suddenly a girl :) I'm mostly writing this out of boredom and my love for CoffeeShop AUs... so yeah. More chapters to come when I have time!

...

Stiles liked her job, she really did. She liked the friendly aroma of the shop that always smelt like freshly ground coffee beans and cinnamon rolls. Stiles wouldn't say that her passion was making complicated lattes, but she didn't complain. She liked the social aspect - having regulars and beginning to count on them coming in at the same time every day. She liked making conversation; talking to people she would have never had the chance to, before giving them their morning coffee. She liked trying to guess newbie's coffee orders, and she was good at it too – 9 times out of ten she was right.

The only thing she didn't like was having to work while all of her friends were out partying or whatever they got up to when she wasn't around. Everyday from 6 - 9 before her classes and 5 – 8 after her classes, she was at the University coffee shop making sure students had their much needed pick me up. The only days she didn't have to work was Friday nights, and Saturday and Sunday mornings – thank god. If she did, her social life would be completely shot.

...

Stiles had her head full of mousey brown hair tied up in a bun, as always, as she started her night shift on Saturday.

"How's the crowd been?" She asked Isaac. Isaac Lahey was the other poor kid that had to spend most of his free time working at the shop, just like Stiles.

"Annoying." Isaac muttered as he cleaned a frothy glass. Unlike Stiles, Isaac wasn't as much of a people-person. Stiles grinned at his response.

"You know, I'm waiting for that one day where you tell me that work has been wonderful and you've finally discovered the joy of conversation." Stiles mused, helping Isaac clean the place.

"Oh, shut up. I like conversation just fine. I'm sorry I'm not a bundle full of energy at work like you are."

Stiles paused for a moment before responding. "I have never hung out with you outside of work, did you notice that? That needs to be changed."

"If you say so."

"What are you doing tonight? I'm going with Scott to some party, you should come." Stiles asked and Isaac looked mildly taken back.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Scott is that guy, right? The one who always comes in here at the end of your shift?"

"Big brown eyes and a face like a puppy. That's him."

"Are you guys dating?" Isaac asked. He looked surprised when Stiles burst out into a fit of laugher. It took a while for her to calm herself down enough to speak.

"God – NO. Scott is dating Alison. And me? Scott isn't even in the ballpark of who I'm into."

Just then a ring of the bell came from the door. A girl walked through with headphones jammed into her ears and a sour look on her face. She was gorgeous, though. She had long dark hair that fell pin straight to the middle of her chest. Her eyes were vibrant and intense and she had bone structure that was completely unfair. Stiles suddenly felt very… weird.

"Her." Stiles looked directly at the girl at the door. "Coffee order – go."

"Peppermint Latte… no whipped cream… one sugar." Isaac said with slight confidence.

"Oh, _please_. She's going to order a black coffee, nothing in it. Trust me." Stiles said. She was usually right and it was something she took shameful pleasure in. Just by the way she looked Stiles could almost imagine everything about her. She imagined what music she was listening to, what classes she took, where she would go after she downed her drink. Guessing a coffee order was child's play.

"What would you like on this wonderful evening?" Stiles asked cheerfully, leaning casually – almost too casually – on the counter. The girl gave her an odd look before speaking.

"One medium English Breakfast tea." She said.

Stiles was surprised, shocked even. She gave her a wide stare, like her ordering tea was the most bizarre thing in the universe.

"That's it." The girl said. She sounded annoyed.

"I'll be right on it." Isaac leaned in for the otherwise silent Stiles and started making her tea.

"Have you ever thought about drinking coffee? Black coffee for instance? You know, I think it would really suit you." Stiles sputtered out.

"I don't like coffee, it's too bitter." She said. She was looking at Stiles oddly – not in annoyance, but something else.

"Too bitter? You just ordered the bitterest tea we have! _English Breakfast – _Jesus Christ it isn't even breakfast! It's like 5:30!"

"I didn't say I don't like bitter things. Coffee is _too_ bitter; tea is just the right amount of bitter. Now I wasn't aware that you had such a passion about my order, but I'm sorry to disappoint you." She rolled her eyes, but underneath there was a hint of a smile.

"You know, I could make you some delicious coffee. You wouldn't even turn back to tea once you'd tried it. Trust me." Stiles didn't exactly know what was wrong with her. She got people's coffee orders wrong sometimes, it happened, but she was never persistent about it.

"I don't think so."

"You've never been here before, how do you know you're not going to like it?"

"How do you know I've never been here before?"

"Trust me, I would have remembered you." Stiles said the words much more…erotically that she should have. A wave of blush rushed up to her cheeks in an instant. "I mean…"

"Here's your tea." Isaac leaned in again – thank god. "That'll be $1.80." She handed Isaac the money and smiled, turning once more to look at Stiles.

"Thanks." She said, turning to leave.

"Hold on!" Isaac yelled. "What's your name?" The girl paused, almost out of the door. "We're supposed to get to know our customers better. The whole hospitality thing is catching on. Store policy."

"I'm Haley." She said and walked out the door.

...

"You're so in love with her." Isaac teased.

They were at a party at some guy's house just off the campus. Isaac had agreed to join them, but Stiles had an itching suspicion that he only agreed because Scott was going to be there.

"Leave me alone!" Stiles wailed at him.

"Stiles is in love?" Scott walked over to them and joined them on the couch, a drunken smile on his face.

"I'm not in love!" She insisted, crossing her arms and burrowing deeper into the couch.

"Aw, all of the signs are here: Insistent denial, constant mopey-ness and a crazy amount of blush. Are you sure you're not wearing makeup, Stiles? Your face is completely pink." Scott said with a huge smile and of course the more he said, the redder Stiles' face became.

"You guys suck."

"So who's the lucky girl?" Scott asked, but it was clear that Stiles wasn't going to say anything.

"Someone named Haley." Isaac answered for her. "She came by the coffee shop today and I think Stiles almost fainted from the sight of her."

"She looks like a freakin' Greek _Goddess_." Stiles' muffled voice came out from under her arms that were aiding in a cocoon of feelings. "And she was so cool when I was making a complete idiot out of myself and she was all sarcastic and awesome." Stiles sighed, finally deciding to sit upright. "And she ordered tea – of all things, tea! How was I supposed to guess that? She's just so unpredictable and sexy."

"Do you know what she's studying? Or how old she is? I could ask Alison to become friends with her and then maybe she could hang out with us." Scott said.

"You're an awesome friend." Stiles smiled and gave Scott a big side hug. Stiles was very drunk at this point. "Wait… but I don't know anything about her! What am I going to do?" Stiles seemed mid-crisis when Isaac jumped in.

"She had a 'Class of 2008' t-shirt on that looked like it was from a high school. So my guess is that she's in 4th year now." He said.

"Okay that helps." Scott said.

"Oh my god, she's three years older than me? Half of me is turned on and the other half of me is punching myself for always aiming out of my league."


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you think I'm hot?" Stiles was sitting in Scott's dorm room looking at her face with much scrutiny in the mirror.

"What?" He said, a laugh on the tip of his tongue.

"Oh, grow up. You're a guy – what do you think?"

Stiles pondered over her appearance as Scott hesitated to answer. She was _cute_, she could give herself that much. She had mousey brown hair that fell just above her shoulders. Her eyes were almond shaped and a light honey brown and her nose curved up like a miniature ski slope. She was skinny and gangly and had moles places haphazardly on her face. Cute? – Sure. Hot?

"Yeah… I guess." He looked at her like he was waiting for her to freak out on him. So, naturally, she punched him in the arm. "Ouch! Come on, Stiles. You've been my best friend since we were like five years old. There is no way I could ever think about you like that."

"Ugh. You're no help." Stiles flopped down on Scott's bed. "I've had one actual relationship in my life and that was when I finally gave up on Lydia Martin and went out with Danny for a month. My love life is _pathetic_."

"Don't be so down on yourself. What about the coffee shop girl, Haley?"

"So far out of my league it's ridiculous. Besides, how is anything ever going to happen if I only see her while I'm working?"

"Ask her out."

"Scott, please don't try to be funny, it's not your strong point. Remember when I said 'out of my league'?"

"You asked Lydia out dozens of times."

"Very true. But do you remember how well that went?" Stiles groaned. "It's fine, I'll just stay a virgin forever. No big deal."

"Don't be so dramatic." Scott rolled his eyes.

For weeks it went the same – Haley coming in the shop every night at 5:30. Stiles would make some very lame comment ("You're sure you don't want to ditch that tea for some delectable coffee?" "Whoa, it's 5:40. I thought you were standing me up!") and Haley would smile and roll her eyes.

Stiles had officially developed a major crush. She started to notice the days when Haley was in a particularly good mood (She wouldn't act any different, but she would stay around the shop for a little while, instead of leaving right away. Sometimes she would read, use her laptop, or just simply sit there) and the days where she was not to be disturbed. Those days she wouldn't even smile at Stiles, all she would do was glare at her and storm away with her bitter tea. Although Stiles will admit that she always liked to poke fun at her on those days.

"Does Haley go to the University?" Alison asked one night when Stiles, Scott and herself were all sitting in Stiles' dorm room.

"Yes. Why else would she come to the coffee house?" Stiles said.

"It's just, I looked at the yearbook for the year she would have come to this school, and there's no one named Haley in the freshman pages." She said. "Hold on, I'll show you." Alison turned around to look through her bag, pulling out a slightly dated yearbook.

Stiles grabbed the yearbook and started flipping through the section where the entire freshman year had their picture. F…G…H… She was right. There was no Haley. Stiles leafed through the pages, looking at pictures this time.

"You're right." Stiles muttered, careful reviewing the pages.

"Maybe it was a nickname? Or maybe her parents spelt Haley really weirdly, like with a Q or something." Scott provided.

"What the hell…" Stiles muttered. She had found Haley's picture, but not under the name Haley.

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"Derricka Hale." Stiles read from the page.

"I have a bone to pick with you." Stiles said as Haley entered the shop.

"What?" She snapped, walking up to the counter. She was in one of her bad moods, Stiles could tell.

"Whoa, don't get mad at me, _Derricka_" Stiles' mouth widened into a smile as the name rolled off his tongue. Haley's eyes widened in horror at the sound of her other name.

"Where the hell did you hear that name?" Her voice was almost a growl. Stiles was suddenly sorry that he had ever found her name in the yearbook. She abruptly grabbed Stiles' collar, violently pulling her across the counter. Stiles let out a yelp of surprise.

"Calm down, it's just your name. No need to be angry." Stiles' voice came out as a squeak and Haley reluctantly let go of her collar.

"Come with me." Her voice was a command; one that Stiles wasn't about to disobey. Haley didn't wait for her as she stormed out of the shop.

"I guess I'm taking my break now." Stiles said, looking at Isaac nervously for some reassurance. Isaac just shrugged and chuckled as Stiles ran out the door after Haley.

Stiles found her behind the building, still looking furious, but slightly less so than she did inside.

"How did you hear that name?" She growled again as soon as Stiles was close.

"I saw it in a year book. You know I was very surprised to not find your picture under the name Haley." Stiles tried to smile to ease the tension but it was no use.

"Don't use that name." She stepped closer to her, so close that their faces were barley inches apart. Stiles knew that she was trying to be intimidating, but she was just pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I got that." She said. "But why?"

"Because who the hell names their kid Derricka?" Her face held a smile for a fraction of a second. "And Haley – Hale… it just fit." Haley's voice dropped from furious to something else in a matter or seconds. Stiles almost couldn't place it… it's was almost like she was sad.

"You're upset with Derricka? You should hear the name I got stuck with." Stiles said.

"Yeah, Stiles does sound pretty stupid." Haley scoffed.

"Ow! Stiles isn't my real name, it's the one I chose. My last name is Stilinski. I kind of did the same thing as you."

"Except Haley is a real name." She rolled her eyes again. Everything was silent for a moment. "Okay fine, I'll take the bait. What's your real name?" She asked.

Stiles was silently thrilled. That was probably the first personal interest that Haley had every taken in her.

"Not telling. But I will say that my parents were even more messed up than yours." She smirked. Haley, big surprise, rolled her eyes again. But this time it was without the smile.

There was a moment of silence. Stiles didn't know what to do – leave? She felt like she'd be squandering a pretty huge opportunity if she just left now. But Haley wasn't saying anything.

"So, are your parents those fun kind of people that like to name their kid something weird just to be unique? If so, we have that in common." Stiles was making conversation, trying to fill the silence. Unfortunately it didn't work because Haley didn't say anything. She glared at Stiles like she had some personal vendetta against her. "Okay, uncomfortable silence it is." She left this open for Haley to say something, but again – nothing. "Look, if I've said something wrong just tell me…"

"I have to go." Haley said, her voice sharp and fast. She turned away and was out of Stiles' view before she could blink.

"You didn't even get your tea." Stiles muttered to herself before going back inside.

"Please tell me you at least got her number." Isaac said pleadingly as Stiles marched back inside with an angry look on her face.

"Isaac, you should have learned by now that I'm a huge idiot."


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Haley didn't come to the shop. Stiles spent almost the entire shift going over their conversation in her mind, trying to think of what had happened. She spent the rest of the time replaying the situation to Isaac who was pretty annoyed with her by the end of the night.

But the next day, there she was. Same as always. Stiles considered asking her what she had done to break their little routine (a whole month!), but she didn't. Instead she made a lame comment and Haley replied with a roll of the eyes and a little smile.

Same as always.

For the next month, everything was normal. Haley came in at 5:30 everyday and ordered the same type of tea, paying in spare change and eye rolls. Sometimes she would stay for a while and work on her assignments and sometimes she would leave right away, making Stiles wonder where she was rushing off to. Everyday Stiles contemplated doing the extremely cheesy thing and leaving her number on a cup sleeve, but she didn't. Usually Stiles would be all over the failed attempts at flirting. She had actually given her number to a few guys and girls at the shop before Haley came along, but something about her made Stiles hesitate. Something about her made Stiles feel like a dumb teenager again, getting sweaty palms and a racing heart at every sight. Stiles, she would swear on her life, has matured since high school. Instead of doting on one person for long periods of time, Stiles was working her way to mastering the "ask, get rejected, and move on" technique. She _was_, at least, but something about Haley made Stiles feel that if she waited and bided her time, maybe, just maybe, there would be no rejection.

So Stiles worked with what she had, even though it wasn't much.

…..

"I hate to be the one to say this, but you should work on getting over this Haley girl." Scott said as they were on their way to another party. It was a Friday night, which meant no work for Stiles. She always wondered what Haley did on Friday nights.

"It's only been like two months." Stiles muttered.

"Yeah, that's a long time. I think I waited a day or two before I asked Allison out." A goofy smile filled his face when he said her name. They'd been together for almost two years now and he still made that love-struck face when he talked about her. "If you're not going to ask her out, I think you should move on. You're in University, you're young. You should be hooking up with people, not getting nervous about asking one girl out."

"One very, very attractive girl." Stiles corrected him. "But you're probably right. And plus, if we ever did get together I'd be like a total kid compared to her. I have no… experience in this sort of thing. I've kissed a total of one girl and that was Lydia and I'm pretty sure she was just pitying me."

"Maybe you don't have to get over her, just have some fun. Ever since you've met her you haven't even flirted with anyone else. It's kind of sad to just watch you sit on the couch with Isaac during parties."

"Speaking of Isaac, he's not coming, is he?" Stiles asked him.

"How should I know? You work with the guy."

"I told him about the party and he usually texts me but not this time." She was concerned even though they had only been friends for just over a month.

"He probably has too much work or something."

…..

"Hi, I'm Erica." Stiles was standing in the thick of the party and a stunningly pretty girl walked up to her. So pretty that Stiles could barley believe she was talking to her.

"Stiles." She said, attempting to smile despite the shock. The past two Haley-centric months had been filled with Stiles and Isaac sitting on the couch getting drunk. The only people who usually came up to them were people who were too stoned to dance. Well, them and Scott.

"I haven't seen you around before. Do you not go to parties often?" Erica smiled, leaning in very close to Stiles.

"No I do, I just, uh, hang around the back more." Stiles, admittedly, was distracted by the very low cut collar on Erica's dress. Erica noticed Stiles looking and smiled.

"Well I'm glad I saw you this time."

Stiles was close to asking her if Scott had put her up to this. Even before Stiles became a wallflower at parties, the people who came up to him were not in Erica's range of looks. And they were mostly guys – not many people automatically assumed she was into girls.

"Do you want to go somewhere a bit quieter?" Erica asked with a special note in her voice. Stiles was drunk and speechless so all she could do was nod.

Erica grabbed her hand and led her though the crowd and up a flight of stairs. As soon as they were on the upper level the noise was instantly subdued.

Erica was about to pull her into one of the rooms when the door opened from the other side and a disheveled Isaac came stumbling out, followed by another guy that Stiles didn't recognize.

Even though Stiles was drunk, she wasn't completely unaware of her surroundings. Isaac's lips were swollen and red, his hair all over the place and the top button of his jeans was undone.

"Stiles!" Isaac shouted in surprise and panic.

"Isaac, I didn't know you were going to be here." Stiles said. She wondered why he wouldn't have let her know. "Why didn't you text me?"

"Well I wasn't coming to the party with you so I just didn't bother." Isaac was blushing furiously, very aware of the boy standing next to him. The boy was now tugging Isaac's hand to go downstairs.

"Okay, well, uh, have fun then." Stiles said, giving the guy a once over. It's not like Stiles hadn't figured out that Isaac was gay, but Isaac hadn't told her yet and this was a very awkward way to be outed to your friend.

"You too." Isaac smiled, looking at Erica and then following the unnamed guy downstairs.

"Isn't it awkward running into an ex after they've just hooked up?" Erica said with a slight grimace on her face.

"No! No, he's not my ex. We're friends."

"Okay, whatever." Erica said with a roll of her eyes. An image of Haley rolling her eyes forced it's way into Stiles' mind and she felt a sudden pang in her heart, like she was guilty of something. Erica grabbed Stiles' hand again and pulled her into the vacant room. "Now where were we?"

As soon as the door was closed, Erica wasted no time. She pushed Stiles up against the wall and kissed her. Her hands were tangled in Stiles' hair, trying to somehow pull her closer than she already was. Stiles, at first, just had her hands rested on Erica's waist. It was her first time seriously kissing a girl and it was so… different than with guys. Boys were rough and their lips were thin and their breaths were short. Erica was a completely new experience. Everything about her was soft. Her curves were soft underneath Stiles' hands and her lips were softly moving into her own. It was sloppy, too, on account of the fact that they were both wasted. But Stiles' drunken mind didn't really care that it was messy and she didn't care that she didn't even know Erica, she just wanted more.

Everything after that seemed like it happened in less than a second. Suddenly their shirts were off and Erica's breasts looked even better than they did in the dress. And then Stiles was kissing her neck and everything was going fine.

And then the door opened.

"Stiles?" A familiar voice came from the doorframe. Stiles almost died right there in that second.

"Why can I not have one ounce of luck?" Stiles muttered and stepped away from Erica. "Haley, what are you doing here?"

"Um, nothing." Haley's lips were pressed into a thin line. Stiles could feel the tension in the air, she could feel it so much that she could barley breath. "I should go." And with that she spun around and walked out of the room.

"Haley, wait!" Stiles yelled after her.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Erica asked, a distinctive scowl on her face.

"No." Stiles hissed. "But I'm sorry, this was great I just…" Stiles looked out the door and couldn't see Haley anywhere. "I have to go." She pulled on her shirt and ran out the door.

Downstairs she ran into Isaac dancing with the same guy from earlier.

"Isaac, have you seen Haley?" Stiles screamed at him.

"Yeah I have, haven't you? I told her you were upstairs, it will make her totally jealous." Isaac smiled. With one sniff of him Stiles could tell that he was completely wasted.

"You're really stupid when you're drunk, did you know that?" Stiles gave him back to the guy he was dancing with and continued to look for Haley.

After about 20 minutes of searching the entire house, she found Haley sitting on the back porch, like she was waiting for her.

"Haley." Stiles sighed, full of relief. "I thought you had left."

"Yeah well I'm sorry for walking in on your, um…" She spoke awkwardly, which was a first for her in Stiles' experience.

"That? Oh that was nothing. It's fine, yeah just don't worry about it." Stiles spoke too quickly, almost molding her words together. There was a stagnant pause in the air.

"I wanted to tell you something." Haley broke the silence. Stiles could smell alcohol on Haley's breath from where she was sitting. She didn't look drunk at all, but Stiles could tell that she was different. She felt looser than usual, more relaxed.

"Go ahead."

"A long time ago, when you found out my real name, I acted really weirdly." Haley wasn't looking at her as she spoke; she was looking straight ahead, staring into the forest. "And I just wanted to tell you why. Remember that big fire that happened a long time ago? It was in a big house in the middle of the woods, it was all over the news." Stiles nodded but Haley wasn't looking. "That was my house. And it killed almost everyone I knew. Everyone except for my sister, Laura." Her voice was shaking. "It brought us a lot closer, Laura and I. But Laura was the only one who called me De… my real name. It was sort of a special thing between us. And then a year ago, Laura was killed." Haley's breath was sharp. It seemed like every intake caused her pain. "She was really into hiking and mountain climbing and once while she was out on a trail up North, she was mauled by a wolf."

"Shit, I'm so sorry… if I had known, I…" Stiles, for once, was at a loss of words. She knew that Haley wouldn't be telling her any of this if she wasn't drunk. She wanted nothing more than be able to wrap her arms around Haley and to hold her until everything was all right.

"It's fine. When you said it at the coffee place, it was the first time I had heard it since Laura."

Stiles didn't say anything; she couldn't say anything. It seemed as if every single comforting phrase she ever knew just flew out of her head at this very moment. Stiles looked over at Haley, her face still looking forward. Stiles saw her wipe a single tear from her cheek.

"Fuck, I should go." Haley said, promptly getting up. "I'm not a crier. I don't cry." She built her self up and walked off, away from Stiles and away from the house.

"I bet you also don't tell people you barley know your life story." Stiles said loud enough so Haley could still hear it.

She didn't stop or look back, but Stiles knew that she was rolling her eyes with that careful smile on her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Stiles was nervous.

She didn't know exactly _why_, but she still stood behind the counter glaring at the clock every other second, waiting for Haley to step through the door. She never got nervous before when Haley came in. Happy? Yes. Excited? Yes - but not nervous. It probably, Stiles admitted to herself, had something to do with the fact that Haley had 1. Seen her kissing Erica last night and 2. Completely opened up to Stiles about her entire life story, which Stiles realized she didn't do very often.

It was 5:20 and Stiles was trying desperately to think of something funny to say when Haley came in. The notion that she was even thinking of this beforehand was shocking; Stiles was very much in the practice of "speak first, think later".

"I never thought I'd have to tell you this, but just _relax_." Isaac came up behind Stiles, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I am relaxed. Oh, and by the way, do you have any advice on what to say to a girl after she told you that her entire family is dead?" Isaac was silent. "Yeah, I thought so."

"I have an idea." Isaac said after a moment. "Take your break."

"Now? Haley is going to be here soon."

"Exactly. You take a break, she comes in for her tea and then maybe decides to sit down? Maybe next to you?" Isaac smiled, seeming rather pleased with himself.

"And how does that solve the problem of me not knowing what to say to her?" Stiles asked.

"Uh, it doesn't." Isaac replied.

"Exactly."

…..

Haley walked in at five minutes past 5:30 wearing the same expression as always.

"What'll it be? Caramel Twist Frappuccino? Gingerbread Latte? You know our new organic coffee has been a very popular choice…" Stiles rambled, knowing perfectly well what she was going to order and getting a hard silent glare from her in response. "English Breakfast it is."

Haley rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Has anyone ever told you that variety is a very vital part of your diet?" Haley just stared at her. "Well it is. And, uh, I think you need some help in improving that. If I could make any suggestions…"

"I think I'll stick with the tea, thanks." Haley handed Stiles the money and took her drink. She sat down in a chair in the corner of the room.

"You know, the best part of my day is watching you squirm and blush your way through conversations with her." Isaac smiled appearing again beside her.

"I'm glad I could provide you with some amusement." Stiles moped.

"Look, if you want my advice, just do something about it! Talk to her, you know, _something_." Isaac said. "As much as I love your little attempts to flirt with the same joke over and over again, you're my friend and I think you should go for it."

…..

"Hello." Stiles said, sliding into the seat across from Haley.

"Um, hi." She looked permanently startled. "What are you doing?"

"Talking, socializing. I don't know, apparently it's good for you." Stiles fiddled with the warm cup in his hands. Haley was still silent with that look of confusion plastered on her face. "I thought I'd take my break now and then I saw you sitting there and I thought to myself – hey, why not sit with Haley? Make my break a little less more fun than making an attempt at my calc assignment."

Haley, to Stiles' excitement, looked like she was trying to fight a smile. Maybe the rambling worked.

"Okay, okay." Stiles kept talking. "I could wait through some small talk and try to force you to ask me what's in my cup right now, but I can't resist." She looked like a kid on Christmas day waiting to open their present.

Haley rolled her eyes. "I'll bite, what's in the cup?"

"_English Breakfast Tea_." She emphasized every word, making sure to draw it out as long as possible.

"And?"

"I haven't tried it yet. You, the lucky person you are, get to see me take my first sip." Stiles had a goofy smile on her face, making everything she said sound 10 times more enthusiastic.

"What a thrill." Haley said, practically oozing in sarcasm. But Stiles had a feeling that she was secretly enjoying this.

"Okay?" Stiles said.

"Okay."

"I'm going to do it."

"I know."

"I'm going to have my first taste of this drink that you find so heavenly and if it's anything less than droplets of pure gold…"

"I never said anything about heavenly."

"…I will be very disappointed."

"Just drink it."

So Stiles did. And the look on his face afterwards said it all.

"You didn't like it." Haley said. It wasn't a question – the look of disgust was very clear on Stiles' face.

"It's not that I didn't like it…" Stiles mused. "It just, you know." Haley cocked an eyebrow. "It's hot water! Hot water with a bit of flavor! I don't get what the big fuss is about."

"It's delicious, there's caffeine, and it's healthy."

"It's gross. Come on, how can you be cheating yourself with this stuff? Have you ever even had coffee before?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Of course I have. And you're being ridiculous. I like tea better than coffee, why can't you get over it?"

"Well, it's just…" Stiles started to say and Haley widened her eyes in surprise. She wasn't expecting Stiles to reply. "I'm good at reading people. It's kind of a special skill. Some people can put their legs around their head, I can guess people's coffee orders with one glance."

"And what was mine? Not tea I'm guessing." Haley smirked.

"Black coffee. I was so sure about it, too. And then… you surprised me." Stiles spoke slowly, like she was carefully reviewing each word before it came out of her mouth.

"What? You've never gotten anyone's coffee order wrong before?"

"No, I have. It's just you." Stiles paused, staring directly into Haley's eyes. "I couldn't read you. I still can't. Everyone else I know is like an open book, their pages just begging to be read, but with you I don't even know where to start. You have this strict look about you, like you'd rather stab yourself with a fork than be where you are. You're sarcastic and witty and you always seem so angry at the world. But then, out of nowhere, you're sweet and caring even though you don't like people to know that. You don't let me know a thing about you and then in one night you tell me your whole story. You always smile at me and roll your eyes, and I feel like it's been that way my entire life. And you drink _tea_ of all things."

Everything was silent for a moment. Stiles was silently hoping that she didn't sound like a stalker.

"Sounds like you've read me pretty damn well." She smiled and Stiles let out a small laugh in relief.

"Doesn't seem like it to me."

"Trust me, you've done better than most."

Haley started packing up her things, throwing her books into her backpack and drinking the last drop of tea from her cup. She was about to stand up.

"We should hang out sometime." Stiles said quickly, the words almost escaping her mouth without permission.

"Hang out?" Haley repeated.

"Yeah." Stiles' heart was beating crazily. "Hang out. Study. Movie. Eating. Whatever."

"Sounds good." Haley said. A smile was carefully forming on her face. "I'll see you sometime then."

"Yeah, sometime."


End file.
